Fracked Gas & LNG

Fracked gas and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) are dirty fossil fuels that threaten health by contributing to climate change and emitting pollution into air and water.

Well over 50% of Oregon's so-called "natural" gas is fracked from shale plays in Alberta, Canada. Methane gas leakage from that process traps heat 86 times more effectively than carbon dioxide during the first 20 years of its lifespan. The process of fracking is extremely harmful to human and environmental health, leading health professionals to conclude that gas is not an acceptable energy source, especially as wind and solar energy prices continue to fall.

The Jordan Cove LNG Export Terminal & The Pacific Connector Pipeline:

Climate defenders have already twice defeated the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and Pacific Connector Pipeline (proposed by Veresen, Inc.). Thanks to the efforts of community advocates, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) concluded in both instances that a fracked gas pipeline and export facility was not in the public interest. Now, under the Trump Administration, Veresen is trying again.

Oregon PSR is among landowners, businesses, climate and conservation groups, native tribes, and concerned residents who have banded together again to fight what would be a 233-mile-long fracked gas pipeline through private property, indigenous territories, and close to 400 waterways. The project would have roughly 15 times the carbon dioxide footprint of the Boardman coal plant on the Columbia River, which is set to close in 2020.

In 2016, Portland General Electric (PGE) planned to build over 1300 MegaWatts of new fracked gas power plants at the Carty Generating Station in Boardman, OR. Ostensibly meant to replace power from the soon-to-be decommissioned Boardman Coal plant, the facility would have been the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide in Oregon even without considering the climate impact of fugitive methane emissions. Responding to Oregon PSR and our partners' "buzzsaw" of opposition, PGE suspended their permit applications for expansion of fracked gas power plants at the Carty Generating Station opting instead to pursue purchases of existing wind energy.